Install TWRP, Disable Encryption, and Root Samsung Galaxy S7

Yeah! The latest flagship killer from Samsung is here. And you might just want to cuddle with it a little, may be root it, or install a custom ROM. But, in order to do that, you must first have a custom recovery installed. So, today we are going to help you on how you can easily install TWRP, disable forced encryption and finally root Samsung Galaxy S7.

The era of the old ClockWorkMod has seen its history, but TWRP is yet the most renowned and stable custom recovery available for Android devices. It lets you perform a variety of useful functions on your Android, like flashing zip files, repairing filesystems, mounting and formatting partitions, backing up ROMs, and much more. These functions could come in handy, if you’re looking to go par enforced Samsung protocols.

Huge thanks to XDA member — jcadduono, who has brought the TWRP experience to the S7. He is also the official TWRP maintainer of Galaxy S7. So users can now instantly go on flashing and mopping, without any hesitation.

The process of TWRP installation follows the use of Odin tool to flash the recovery, which is quiet easy and doesn’t require an expertise. Just your S7, USB cable, PC with Windows OS, and an internet connection, will be sufficient to carry out the complete process.

Once TWRP is installed, you can easily disable forced encryption and root Samsung Galaxy S7.

INSTRUCTIONS

Do not install this on any other models (Qualcomm-based), than the ones listed above, the conclusion are unknown and may prove harmful.

Disclaimer

Flashing TWRP will most likely trigger the KNOX counter. Understand the risk of rooting your Android and follow the procedure only then. DroidOrigin shall not be held responsible for any damage to your S7.

Install TWRP Recovery

Open the folder where ‘Odin3_v3.10.7.zip‘ file was extracted. Double-click on ‘Odin3 v3.10.7.exe‘, to start the Odin program.

Download Mode on Galaxy S7 Edge

Time to boot your S7 into Download mode — Power off the device completely. Now, press and hold the Volume down, Home, and Power button altogether until a blue colored warning screen shows up. Press the Volume up key once, to finally enter Download mode.

Once the device is in Download mode, connect it to the PC using the USB cable.

Odin will now detect the phone and display the corresponding ID:COM port. In case it doesn’t, try restarting Odin, and make sure that the drivers have been properly installed.

Under Options, in Odin window, make sure that everything is untouched.

Click on the AP button. Now, browse and select the “twrp-3.1.0-0-herolte.img.tar” file.

When everything is set as stated, click on the Start button.

Hold back for a few seconds, and once the process is about to complete, hold down Volume up and Home button. So now when your S7 reboots, it will enter TWRP recovery. You can release the buttons once you see the TWRP screen.

Disable Forced Encryption, and Root Samsung Galaxy S7

In TWRP, go to Wipe > Format Data. Enter the keyword ‘yes‘, in the provided space and enter. This will wipe the automatically encrypted filesystem, and decrypt it.

Once the wiping is done, reboot back into recovery. Go to Reboot > Recovery.

When the recovery boots again, connect your S7 to the PC and Enable MTP under the Mount section.

Now, if you’re only looking for decryption and booting your device without root, follow the step.

Tap on Install. Now, navigate your phone’s storage and select “no-verity-opt-encrypt-5.1.zip”. Finally, swipe the button on the bottom of the screen. The flashing process will merely take a few seconds.

If you’re looking for a complete root, along with decryption, then follow the stated.

Tap on Install button. Browse the storage, select and flash the “SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip” file.

Okay, it’s done. Go to Reboot and tap on System to finally reboot your S7.

The first boot might take a few minutes, so don’t worry, have patience and let it do its job. Now that you have installed TWRP and rooted the Galaxy S7, you can choose to install custom ROMs, kernels, or mods.

If you want to confirm that the root method has worked, download Root Check app from the Play Store and run it.

The appreciations goes to jcadduono for his work, that has led us to root Samsung Galaxy S7.

It was fun, installing TWRP and rooting your newly bought S7. Have you faced any issues during the process? Let us know through comments. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends who own the S7.

Dhananjay (DJ) is an Android devotee and a Tech Blogger by profession. He is a keen undergraduate, seeking and working hard on his ambitions to achieve something distinctive in his life. He prefers interacting with his readers in the most reproaching manner possible and his desires here are not just to reach out the tech figures, but also attract those non-interested minds to our Android universe. He proudly owns Nexus 6P, Nexus 5, OnePlus One and a Nexus 4.

Right click on Odin3_v3.10.7.zip. 7-Zip > Extract here.
A new folder (Odin3_v3.10.7) will appear in the same directory where you extracted the file, just now. Open it, and double-click on ‘Odin3 v3.10.7.exe’.

Glad to know that it worked. The idea behind this step was to save pressing of power button, since the device is reboot itself. But anyways, its all the same at the end. If you need something else for the S7, let us know.

Thank you Sam for the valuable advise. We will surely consider adding more information.
Over to your questions. Enabling or disabling forced-encryption is solely a variable choice, where device performance is a major aspect.

But then that is subjective too. Why? If you are using an high-end (Better hardware) device such as the S7, the performance of the device wouldn’t make much difference. While we had the S7, we used it encrypted for a week and rest of the time it stayed decrypted. We didn’t see any visible delays or lags. Yes, if you would take benchmarks and calculate the boot up time, they might show slight difference, but nothing significant that you may physically notice.

And also, performance difference between encrypted and decrypted device is majorly seen is low-end devices. And the gaps shortens as the hardware gets better.

kzshantonu

After flashing no-verity-opt-encrypt-2.1.zip, can I re-encrypt the device and flash original system, boot and recovery images later? Also, if I flash original system, boot and recovery images will the OS read the non-encrypted partitions correctly? Thanks

Hello Allan. We didn’t quite understand, could you please elaborate more on what do you want to achieve? We will be more than happy to help.

Allan Kemp

I just want the phone to boot, Top left reads: Custom Binary Blocked by Secure Boot (recovery.img) Screen Reads: Security Error: This Phone has been flashed with unauthorized software & is locked. Call your Mobile operator for additional support. I have no functional recovery and the phone boot loops into that security warning. I have odin mode still functional but cannot flash rom with odin.

I believe flashing the wrong recovery has messed up your device partition. Did you try and flash the complete stock firmware that has BL, AP, CP, and CSC files?

Allan Kemp

I have tried that, with and without a matching pit file. I don’t know what else to try. Might be properly bricked. I also can’t take to Samsung because I’m in Australia and they won’t service anything other than a Australian model.

Flashing a file from another device could be disastrous. Just a shot in the dark, try flashing stock firmware without Bootloader (BL) file. Just use AP, CP, and CSC.

Allan Kemp

Same again, and smart switch gets to 100% and then hangs the application does nothing on either end. So parts it is i guess (good thing its mint – bought on ebay as “for parts”)
Added!!
Odin engine v(ID:3.1203)..
File analysis..
SetupConnection..
Initialzation..
Set PIT file..
DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
Get PIT for mapping..
Firmware update start..
SingleDownload.
boot.img
recovery.img
system.img.ext4
FAIL! (Auth)

PS: Thanks for all your help regardless of the end result i really appreciate it.

Allan Kemp

Update: Did what you said the last time again, which triggered device to think it had a smart switch error. Then i was able to do emergency restore in smart switch. Device is fully operational. Although still T-Mobile locked and useless in Australia unless i can unlock which was what i was trying to do in the first place.

I am extremely happy that you got it working again. At least you have now gained some experience.
I believe if you are trying to SIM unlock S7 Edge (T-Mobile), then you would like to have a look at this: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-28005

Allan Kemp

Yeah no good unlocking it the legitimate way T-Mobile wont help me and the device is currently ineligible for unlocking.
Thanks though.

Yes of course they can. But you will anyways have to format the internal storage first to decrypt it. Or it won’t be any different.

Wills Joyce

Thank you Dhananjay, i understand now, i was just unsure if the zips could be flashed from the sd card. Thank you for this excellent guide, very helpful. Hopefully my phone will come tomorow & i can give it a go. Thanks again, Wills

You’re welcome Wills. And thank you for your kind words. The process is pretty easy, taking in account that you follow every little detail of it. 🙂

Wills Joyce

Hi Dhananjay, yes i have gone over your instructions over and over, so hopefully i won’t make any mistakes (Touchwood). I notice on some forums people make silly mistakes, probably because they don’t read instructions through and rush things. I will report back when i have my phone and done it. Thanks again, Best, Wills.

Sure Wills. We can all make mistakes cause sometimes we can’t just control the excitement of doing something knew. I remember going through this phase when I first bought an Android device.

All I have learnt again and again is that incomplete knowledge could be really dangerous. It is always better to research and ask questions if you have any doubts.

Wills Joyce

Worked perfect 🙂 the only place i staggered was step 8, Hold back for a few seconds……….. hold down Volume up and Home button. i had to hold the power button to. (But i guess that’s standard anyway). But great job, thank you for the guide, i’ll keep reading your pages etc, Best, Will

I am glad you liked it and that it helped you. Thanks again Will, readers like you give me a strong feeling that I am doing right helping others. Appreciate your kind words. If you ever need help regarding anything related to Android, you can simply send us an email or comment right away. 🙂

Wills Joyce

Hi again Dhananjay, the wife has just got the s7 edge G935F, Am i correct in thinking i can follow instructions above for this model?
Best, Will

Hi Dhananjay. Thanks for the instructions. Just 2 quick questions:
– Could these instructions also apply for a Galaxy S6? I already have the proper TWRP file links for that model, but I was just wondering if the instructions in general would be the same

– What if I’m already rooted before applying the TWRP? Do i also have to re apply the SuperSu zip or i can just skip it and go just with the dm-verity?